India upgrades its military with China in mind

FILE- In this March 29, 2011 file photo provided by the French Army, a Rafale jet fighter takes off from the flight deck of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean sea, as part of the Operation Odyssey Dawn. In recent weeks, India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and worked to ready its first aircraft carrier modernizing its military to face a rising China. (AP Photo/Marine Nationale, Cyril Davesne, File) NO SALES
— AP

FILE- In this March 29, 2011 file photo provided by the French Army, a Rafale jet fighter takes off from the flight deck of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean sea, as part of the Operation Odyssey Dawn. In recent weeks, India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and worked to ready its first aircraft carrier modernizing its military to face a rising China. (AP Photo/Marine Nationale, Cyril Davesne, File) NO SALES
/ AP

FILE- In this Jan. 10, 2011 file photo, India's first indigenously developed fighter aircraft prepares to take a flight during a function in Bangalore, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)— AP

FILE- In this Jan. 10, 2011 file photo, India's first indigenously developed fighter aircraft prepares to take a flight during a function in Bangalore, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)
/ AP

FILE- In this Feb. 5, 2011 file photo, a Special Forces commando stands guard near the C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft that it inducted into its transportation fleet, at a ceremony at the Air Force Station at Hindon near New Delhi, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File)— AP

FILE- In this Feb. 5, 2011 file photo, a Special Forces commando stands guard near the C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft that it inducted into its transportation fleet, at a ceremony at the Air Force Station at Hindon near New Delhi, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this April 29, 2010 file photo, Indian naval officers gather on the deck of the newly inaugurated naval ship INS Shivalik, classed as "stealth" by Indian military officials and the first of its kind in the nation's fleet, at a ceremony in Mumbai, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)— AP

FILE - In this April 29, 2010 file photo, Indian naval officers gather on the deck of the newly inaugurated naval ship INS Shivalik, classed as "stealth" by Indian military officials and the first of its kind in the nation's fleet, at a ceremony in Mumbai, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)
/ AP

FILE- In this Feb. 9, 2009 file photo, an Indian Army T-72 tank rolls into a Landing Craft Mechanized during a joint Army, Navy and Air Force amphibious exercise at the Madhavpur beach, about 475 kilometers (297 miles) west of Ahmadabad, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)— AP

FILE- In this Feb. 9, 2009 file photo, an Indian Army T-72 tank rolls into a Landing Craft Mechanized during a joint Army, Navy and Air Force amphibious exercise at the Madhavpur beach, about 475 kilometers (297 miles) west of Ahmadabad, India. India is beefing up its defenses with new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps, created expressly to counter any aggression by China, defense analysts say. India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 war over their disputed border. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
/ AP

NEW DELHI 
India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China's.

India and China have had tensions since a 1962 border war, and New Delhi has watched with dismay in recent years as Beijing has increased its influence in the Indian Ocean.

China has financed the development of ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and its recent effort to get access in the Seychelles prodded New Delhi to renew its own outreach to the Indian Ocean island state off western India.

With its recent purchases, running into tens of billions of dollars, India is finally working to counter what it sees as aggressive incursions into a region India has long dominated.

"The Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean," James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told a Senate committee last week.

India has created new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps aimed at countering aggression by China. Their border still has not been set despite 15 rounds of talks, and patrols frequently face off on the ground.

Analysts say that although the probability of a conflict between the two Asian giants is remote, a short, sharp conflict in the disputed Himalayan heights can't be ruled out.

"Over the last couple of years, the Chinese have been acting more and more aggressively in the political, diplomatic and military arena," said retired Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal, director of the Indian army-funded Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi.

Indian leaders and defense strategists have fretted as China modernized its forces and extended its military advantage over India. For some in India, countering China is taking precedence even over checking longtime rival Pakistan.

"Of late, there has been a realization (in India) that China is the real danger of the future," Kanwal said.

But Zhao Gancheng, an South Asian expert from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies, said India's reasons for building up its military go well beyond China.

"Of course, India takes a cautious attitude against China due to some unsettled historical issues. But I still believe India's fundamental goal of developing the military ability is to become a globally big country," Zhao said. "Next, it wants to make certain preparation for so-called potential threats coming from China and other countries."

From China's perspective, India's military buildup is "not a main factor" in its defense plans, Zhao said. "Not many people in China regard India as a threat and China has no intention to take part in a military contest with India," he said.

The drive to modernize Indian forces was long overdue as much of the equipment was obselete Soviet-era weapons, and the orders for fighter jets, naval frigates, helicopters and armaments have made India the world's largest importer of arms. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said India accounted for 9 percent of all the world's weapon imports in 2010, the latest year for which figures were available.